As you know, I use Tor Browser for just about all my web activity, under Windows as well as Linux. Now, whenever the Tor circuit changes, quite often the exit relay seems to fall into one of your 'banned' IP ranges, and so I get thrown off here with the message 'You have been permanently banned'. (I also frequently get thrown off just because the IP changes, it seems. Never happens on other sites, including other phpBB forums.) Surely there must be a better way to prevent spammers, Jorge?

Alas, it is still the most effective method as a single spammer can quickly create and use multiple email accounts but can't get IP addresses anywhere near that easily. I don't ban whole IP ranges either, but I do ban single IPs where spam has previously originated from.

Alas, it is still the most effective method as a single spammer can quickly create and use multiple email accounts but can't get IP addresses anywhere near that easily. I don't ban whole IP ranges either, but I do ban single IPs where spam has previously originated from.

OK, I can - and do - always quickly change to another TOR circuit and then sign in again. Irritating, but perfectly doable and not really a major problem. The problem though is, that it could prevent perfectly legit users with those IPs from coming onto the site. And if there are a whole lot of different IPs that are banned (mostly, IME through TOR, they seem to be situated in Liberia and, curiously, Luxembourg) then that problem multiplies. This could potentially at least result in lost sales. (Though I very much doubt this would be so in the case of Liberia, certainly. )

The thing that I don't understand is, other phpBB based forums that I frequent don't seem to ban IPs, at least I've never yet been disconnected and 'permanently banned' and only rarely been disconnected when the IP changes. And yet, they don't seem to suffer any more spam than we get here.

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